Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

Carl Safina’s 'The View from Lazy Point' Wins 2012 Orion Book Award

Stefanie Spear
May. 04, 2012 06:00AM EST

Orion

Author and biologist Carl Safina has won the 2012 Orion Book Award for The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, in recognition of the book’s success in addressing the human relationship with the natural world in a fresh, thought-provoking and engaging manner.

Speaking for the jury, H. Emerson Blake, editor-in-chief of Orion magazine, said, The View from Lazy Point’s graceful celebrations of nature, compassion for living things, and total devotion to the idea that things are interconnected are consistent with everything that the Orion Book Award stands for, and that Orion has stood for for thirty years. I’m delighted that Orion is able to recognize Carl’s outstanding work with this honor.”

Safina’s book is the sixth-ever winner of the prize. Previous winning books include Insectopedia, by Hugh Raffles (2011), and Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing: Living in the Future, by Charles Bowden (2010). The award has been conferred annually by Orion magazine since 2007.

Read the official statement about the winning book here.

The four other finalists for the 2012 Orion Book Award are:

  • Oil on Water, by Helon Habila (W.W. Norton & Co.)

  • Fire Season, by Philip Connors (Ecco)

  • Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell (Vintage)

  • Raising Elijah, by Sandra Steingraber (De Capo)

Each of the authors of all five books will receive a cash prize.

The selection committee for the 2012 Orion Book Award consisted of Cheryl Strayed, author of three books, and “Dear Sugar” columnist for TheRumpus.net; Rob Spillman, editor of Tin House magazine; Elizabeth Kolbert, National Magazine Award-winning staff writer for The New Yorker, and author of two books; Steve Curwood, executive producer and host of Public Radio International’s Living on Earth; and H. Emerson Blake, editor-in-chief of Orion magazine.

Books eligible for the 2012 Orion Book Award were judged on how well they deepen the reader’s connection to the natural world, whether they present fresh ideas about that relationship, and the extent to which they achieve excellence in writing. More than two hundred books published last year were considered for the 2012 Award.

Orion is celebrating its thirtieth year of creating a bimonthly magazine devoted to the need for ecological awareness and a new relationship between people and nature. As part of the anniversary, it will be publishing a series of books this year that support this mission. Orion has won numerous awards, was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2010, and is based in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

For more information about the finalist books, the selection committee, or to learn more about the award and past winners, click here.

biodiversity

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

agribusiness

2020 Dems Called on to Follow Warren in Supporting 'No Big AG Money Pledge'

Politics
"It would be great to see all the candidates join Elizabeth Warren in taking the No Big Ag Money Pledge," said Citizens Regeneration Lobby's Alexis Baden-Mayer. Peter Blanchard / Flickr / ric (CC BY 2.0)

By Andrea Germanos

Food system justice and environmental advocates on Wednesday urged all Democratic presidential hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of Sen. Elizabeth Warren in signing a pledge rejecting campaign cash from food and agribusiness corporations.

Read More
politics food elizabeth warren agribusiness big ag democrats 2020 election bayer tyson factory farms iowa
conservation

Study: Native Americans Barely Impacted Landscape for 14,000 Years. Europeans Came and Changed Everything

Science
A new study shows the impact Native Americans had on landscapes was "small" compared to what followed by Europeans. The findings provide important takeaway for conservation in New England today, seen above in a view of areas surrounding Rangeley Lakes in Maine. Cappi Thompson / Moment / Getty Images

There's a theory going around that Native Americans actively managed the land the lived on, using controlled burns to clear forests. It turns out that theory is wrong. New research shows that Native Americans barely altered the landscape at all. It was the Europeans who did that, as ZME Science reported.

Read More
indigenous peoples indigenous conservation forests misinformation new england deforestation farming
Sponsored
trees

Trump Says U.S. Will Join 1 Trillion Trees Initiative, While Ignoring the Root of the Problem and Attacking Climate Activists

Politics
Loggers operate in an area of lodgepole pine trees killed by the mountain pine beetle in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest on Sept. 13, 2019 in Montana. As climate change makes summers hotter and drier in the Northern Rockies, forests are threatened with increasing wildfire activity, deadly pathogens and insect infestations, including the mountain pine beetle outbreak. The insects have killed more than six million acres of forest across Montana since 2000. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

President Donald Trump told a crowd at the Davos World Economic Forum Tuesday that the U.S. will join the Forum's 1t.org initiative to restore and conserve one trillion trees around the world, according to The Hill.

Read More
climate crisis donald trump conservation forests public lands trees
sustainability

Indigikitchen Is Bringing Native Food Sovereignty Online

Food
Wild rice flatbread is one of many Native recipes found in Indigikitchen. Indigikitchen

The online cooking show Indigikitchen is providing a platform to help disseminate Indigenous food recipes — while helping eaters recognize their impact on the planet and Native communities.

Read More
food positive news indigenous peoples indigenous solutions indigikitchen local food sustainability
sea turtles

Women on the Solomon Islands Are Protecting Critically Endangered Sea Turtles

Animals
youtu.be

On the Solomon Islands, rats and poachers are the two major threats to critically endangered sea turtles. A group of local women have joined forces to help save the animals from extinction.

Read More
sea turtles conservation endangered species marine life positive news